Bathinda, September 26
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kamal Kishore Yadav will appear before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) tomorrow in the case pertaining to the proposed municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plant.

During the last hearing on August 29, the NGT had directed the DC as well as the Municipal Commissioner to submit a complete plan report mentioning the details about the works undertaken regarding garbage collection and its management as well as a proposal on the way garbage would be treated when the plant comes into being. They have also been asked to provide alternative sites for the plant.

The DC was asked to file a personal report with regard to establishment of proper MSW disposal plant taking care of the waste right from its collection till its final disposal. He was also directed to consider the proposal for establishing the MSW disposal plant and place it before the NGT with his comments like whether there was any alternative site available nearby, on the next date of hearing. The NGT had directed that the principle of 'polluter pays' may also be considered.

Yadav said the district administration had prepared an exhaustive plan listing all the three things that the NGT has wanted to lay emphasis on.

"We have formulated a detailed plan for MSW disposal. At the same time, attention has been paid to the technology proposed for treating the collected garbage. We have also identified four sites that could serve as alternate to proposed one on the Mansa road," Yadav said.

Residents of the area where the plant proposed to come up, headed by Captain Mal Singh, had moved the NGT demanding that the plant be shifted out from the present site which has densely-populated localities in periphery.

The outcome of tomorrow's hearing will seal the fate of the plant.

Bathinda, September 26
The police today arrested five persons involved in various incidents of snatching on the outskirts of the city.

The accused have been identified as Gurcharan Singh alias Channa, Kuldeep Singh Kabutar -both residents of Samadh Bhai, Moga, Rajveer Singh alias Happy of Baghapurana, Makhan Singh alias Andy and Gurpreet Singh alias Midda, both residents of Bhagta Bhaika.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ravcharan Brar said the accused were arrested following a tip-off. "The kingpin of the gang, Lakha, is on the run," he added.

Brar also stated that more snatching cases were expected to be solved with the arrest of these snatchers.

The SSP said all the accused appeared to be around 25 years old and were hooked to various forms of drugs.

A case in this connection has been registered against the accused and efforts were on to nab the absconding accused.

The SSP said they have identified around 200 snatchers in the district and their profiles have been maintained by the police at different police stations of the district and at the district police headquarters.

Bathinda, September 26
After holding camps for regularisation of unauthorised colonies, the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), will now start holding camps for collection of property tax.

The corporation expects to collect around Rs 17.5 crore as property tax from nearly 65,000 households, several vacant plots as well as the commercial establishments.

Assistant commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal said four teams have been formed to collect property tax in the city, which would primarily be based on voluntary disclosure by the owners of properties. If anyone does not pay the tax, the MCB has the right to attach his property and auction it. Before this, the MCB will issue a notice to the offender under Section 137 and 138 of the Municipal Corporation Act.

Those who will pay property tax before November 30 will be given a rebate of 10 per cent. Those paying before December 31 will be charged at par with the tax slabs. Paying tax in the first quarter of 2014 will attract a penalty of 25 per cent and another 50 per cent penalty along with interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum on the principle amount will be charged after March 31.

Owners of properties less than 50 sq yards will have to pay Rs 100. Rs 150 will be levied on properties till 100 sq yards and a property built on an area over 100 sq yards will be charged as per the collector rate of the area concerned.

For the purpose or property tax, the city has been divided into eight zones and four teams have been formed for tax collection. Each team will comprise of a superintendent, a clerk and a bank employee and look after two zones. Also, a team will be deputed at the MCB headquarters. It will work on creating awareness about property tax and help property owners calculate tax they have to pay.

Bathinda, September 26
Patience pays. This is what a farmer of Bhunder village says who is to get a tube well connection 24 years after an application for the same was given to the PSEB.

Directions in this connection have been ordered by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum.

The 58-year-old Labh Singh's father, Pritam Singh, had applied for a tube well connection for irrigation purposes in May 1988. Apart from completing requisite formalities, including attaching A&A form under the general category, Pritam also paid fees of Rs 248 and the security deposit of Rs 590.

Labh Singh said his father kept visiting one official after another for the tube well connection for 18 years but to no avail. After his father's death in November 2008, Labh pursued the case and enquired about it from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Patiala, then PSEB. Labh Singh learnt that a demand notice (to claim tube well connection) was issued in the name of his father but it never reached their address.

The complainant's counsel, Ashok Gupta, said it seemed that the authorities concerned sent the demand notice only in papers as it never reached the complainant or his family members.

After Pritam's death, Labh Singh became the consumer and beneficiary of the tube-well connection, Gupta said, adding that many other farmers who had applied till 1992 were issued tube well connections. Even those, who had applied after the complainant, too managed to get the same.

The complainant tried to enquire about the status of his connection under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in October last year but got an incomplete reply. He registered complaints with senior functionaries and accused the authorities concerned of adopting pick and choose policy while issuing tube well connections.

The opposite parties, the PSPCL through its secretary and the SDO, Powercom, Sub-Urban Sub-Division, Rampura, filed a joint statement in the forum wherein they pleaded that they have lost the 20 years old dispatch register. They pointed out that the complainant's father had applied for a tube well connection and his son was not their consumer.

The forum, however, observed that the fees and security amount deposited in 1988 were still lying with the opposite parties, the attached application was not rejected and the money deposited was not refunded by the department. The forum stated that the complainant was the legal heir of the applicant. It added that the complainant was a consumer being beneficiary of the tube well connection as defined under Section 2(1) (d) of the Consumer Protection Act.

However, the forum stated that the complainant cannot claim tube well connection as per the policy prevalent in the year 1988.

Observing deficiency on the part of the opposite parties, the forum accepted the complaint without any cost or fine but with directions to issue the demand notice to the complainant within 15 days keeping in view the rules and regulations prevailing these days.

Bathinda, September 26
The police today booked a woman for killing her two daughters, two years and four years old, and trying to end her own life.

The complainant in the case, Ajaib Singh, stated that the woman, Binder Kaur, jumped in a canal along with her two children in a bid to kill them and then tried to commit suicide by hanging herself. However, she was saved.

The complainant added that the incident occurred near Burj Mehma village.

A case under Sections 302 and 309 of the IPC has been registered at Sadar police station.

Bathinda, September 26
The cheap mode of disposing trash by the authorities at the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) residential colony or Thermal Colony is not going doing down well with the residents of ward 1 of Kothe Amarpura.

After their failure to get the problem resolved by sending numerous complaints to the Punjab Pollution Control Board, Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda and the Chief Engineer of GNDTP, now they plan to launch a protest.

The residents said that despite the availability of landfill and schemes provided by the Municipal Corporation to collect garbage, door to door, the authorities are burning it in the open adjacent to the boundary wall of the Thermal Colony.

"The smoke emitted from the burning of the trash collected from the houses of Thermal Colony is dumped away from the government quarters but it is adjacent to the houses in the village," said Jaswant Singh, a resident of the village.

Accusing the Thermal authorities of adopting the least preferred method of disposal, Jaswant pointed out that the trash including plastic, polythene and other material, kept smouldering for many days. The smoke, he said, remains present in the atmosphere which leads to severe headache, chest pain, stinging of eyes, cough, irritation in sinuses, throat irritation and shortness of breath.

Other residents including Gurbachan Singh, Malkit Singh, Randeep Singh, Harchet Singh, Baljeet Singh, Didar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Randhir Singh and Surjit Singh too spoke of similar problems due to the 'toxic' smoke. The villagers said that during the winter, the smoke remains stagnant in the air which and creates more health problems.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kamal Kant said he had received written complaints from irate villagers who also approached senior political leaders in this regard.

"The Municipal Corporation has many provisions to deal with the problem and initially, notice will be issued to the Thermal authorities for creating public nuisance. Strict action would be initiated if they fail to adopt a permanent environment-friendly method for garbage disposal," Kamal Kant said.

He pointed out that there are many options for the Thermal plant authorities to dispose of their daily trash. The authorities may approach the private company, through the corporation, which is engaged in picking door to door garbage. The company charges Rs 20 to Rs 50 and deploys workers for collecting garbage. The company also collects garbage from the dumping site at the rate of Rs 300 per tonne.

But since the Powercom authorities never approached the municipal corporation, the villagers are complaining about the illegal burning of garbage in the open.

Deputy Chief Engineer (Civil) Prem Sagar Garg, while denying the villager's allegations of burning trash in the open, said, "It is the villagers who trespass our boundary and anti-social elements and drug addicts burn the garbage by throwing cigarettes."

He, however, assured of evolving schemes and introducing a permanent solution to the problem of garbage dumping in the Thermal Colony.

Bathinda, September 26
A seminar will be held on September 29 at the SSD Group of Institute, Hanuman Chowk, dedicated to Swami Vivekananda and Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The seminar will be held as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda.

In a press statement issued here, Punjab convener of the institute, Vijay Kumar stated that the seminar is a part of the year-long celebrations being held in the state.

Seven such youth seminars are being held in the state. The work on registering students for the event is going on at full swing. Youngsters in the age-group of 18 to 40 years are being enrolled for the event. Youth from Faridkot, Muktsar and Mansa will also be participating in the event.

To make the event a success, 38 departments have been formed and 250 volunteers have been deputed for carrying out various works.

Besides, an exhibition depicting the richness of Indian culture, cultural programmes, chorus songs and other activities will be held.

Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, RSS member Ram Madhav, PTU vice-chancellor Dr Rajneesh Arora, IG counter intelligence Dr JK Jain and others will also take part in the event. — TNS

Bathinda, September 26
The Centre for Comparative Literature is organising a programme to mark the death anniversary of the legendary Punjabi playwright Gursharan Singh on September 27.

Popular progressive Punjabi playwright and the recipient of Kalidas Award, Gursharan Singh, is popular among the literary circles of Punjab and the rest of India.

His plays have touched upon the issues of oppression and exploitation of the masses by the rulers. Gursharan Singh, who passed away on September 27, 2011, also took theatre to the villages of Punjab, especially in the Malwa belt, where he highlighted the aspects of revolution against tyranny and socio-cultural awakening.

Dr Swarajbir, eminent Punjabi playwright, currently holding the position of Inspector-General (CISF), will deliver a lecture on the life and contribution of Gursharan Singh on the occasion. — TNS

Bathinda, September 26
The girls' volleyball team of the Adesh Institute of Dental Sciences and Research (AIDSR), Adesh University campus, won a silver medal in the recently concluded sports meet of the medical and dental colleges held at the All India Institute of medical Sciences, New Delhi, on September 22.

A total of 17 teams from various medical and dental colleges from across the country participated in volleyball. AIDSR defeated seven other teams to reach the finals. The team comprised interns of AIDSR captain Amanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Rupinder Kaur, Parmeet Kaur, Harmanjeet Jhajj, DeepikaThakur, Silky Gabbi, Kritika Kaul and Navneet Kaur.

The contingent to AIIMS comprised a total of 19 students who also participated in games like carrom, chess, badminton, rangoli and other sports. Dr Junaid Ahmed Shaik and Dr Rupinder Bansal accompanied the team to Delhi.

Chancellor of the university Dr HS Gill, principal, AIDSR, Dr Amanish Singh and sports committee head Dr Junaid Ahmed Shaik congratulated the team on its arrival. Medical superintendent, administration, Dr Gurpreet Singh Gill encouraged the players and promised even better sports facilities on Adesh University campus in the future.

Principal, AIDSR, Dr Amanish Singh, vice-chancellor of the university Dr GPI Singh, registrar Paramjit Singh and the principal, AIMSR, Dr Harkiran Kaur also expressed their happiness over the feat.

Bathinda, September 26
The two-day tech-fest Tarannum took off on a grand note at the Punjab Technical University Giani Zail Singh (PTU GZS) campus today.

DGM, HMEL GGS Refinery, Bathinda, Prasanta Kumar Saha presided over the inaugural ceremony, while DGM (Maintenance), Vardhman, Bathinda, Ajay Lal Anand was the guest of honour.

Batch-wise competitions will be held for various technical, literary, hobby and cultural events. About 200 students participated in different events on the first day of the fest.

Events are being held including skit, Vaak Yudh, duet dance, choreography, regional dance, western dance, folk dance, Emotional Atyachar, spin-a-yarn, ad-mad, Google essay, moment photography, rangoli with a twist, painting, photography, slogan writing, face painting, pillar designing, tall towers, treasure hunt, Hum Tum, best from waste, CAD modelling, design suite, make it possible, bridge-o-mania, Bob the Builder, java juggling, explore ur softonic world, solo dance, treasure hunt and others.

The chief guest at the evening session was MD, Bathinda Chemical Industries, Rajinder Mittal. The guests of honour were the DGM, HMEL GGS Refinery, Bathinda, Arun Kumar and in-charge, NFL, Bathinda SC Singla.

Famous singer Shehnaz Akhtar, winner of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa TV show, enriched the evening with his presence.

Dr Sandeep Kansal, chief coordinator, welcomed the guest. Dr Rajesh Kumar, Neeraj Gill, Jatinder Kaur and Harish Garg are the coordinators for the fest. Director Dr Jasbir S. Hundal congratulated the faculty, staff and the students for organising the function. Famous comedian Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi will be performing on September 27.

The results of the Day I events are as follows:

The first prize winners in the battle of wits were Ravneet Kaur and Shubh Laxmi. In Emotional Atyachar, it was Ankita Modi, in Google Essay it was Siddharth Manohar, in CAD modelling Chetak Garg, in design suite Nitu, and in Bob the Builder, Manik Bansal and Dewayani Sharma came up trumps.

In Explore Ur Softonic World event, Nikhil Malik and Swati Rana were declared first, in solo dance (girls), Ramneet Kaur stood first¸ in solo dance (boys), Manmeet was declared the winner, in rangoli with a twist event, Swati Sharma and Jyoti bagged the first place, in painting, Amandeep was declared the winner, in photography, Purvashi bagged the first place while in slogan writing, Ekta secured the first place.

In face painting contest, Lakshay and Rahul stood first, in pillar designing, Simar and Aman stood first and in tall towers, Sunny and Harzinder secured the first place.